h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Do they know it's Christmas? - A87726685
Author: Fizzymouse- no place like home - U1899683



I'm pretty sure the gift isn't evident in this poem but I heard the song in the car and I can't help thinking about this stuff and all the little children in the world.

Good one.

Very nice. How many hungry kids could we feed with the money spend just on wrapping paper and ribbons?

Thank you folks.

I don't think it's that good of a poem as such. It just works for me because that's what I think about when I hear that song. There's so many children who it'll just pass by.


Oh dear, I really didn't mean to bring everyone down (myself included)

It looks a pretty good poem to me.

I could say it has an informal rhyme scheme, and the rhythm is consistent,etc.

But I will say that there will be more children in poverty this year than a few years ago, thanks to the credit crunch and the government's cuts.

Yes, that was foremost in my mind when I was driving home and composing this. Our own house will have tightened belts this year but it doesn't come close to those in real poverty. There's also the children that try hard not to be too wantful (I made that word up, I think) at Christmas but their parents can't cope with the stress of it and the children suffer.

I really don't want to think about what Christmas will be like in some of those houses.

Unfortunately things here in NC are bad for kids as well. The Salvation Army and several of the shelters don't have enough toys to go around for all the kids. Some of whom are living in cars because of foreclosures.

It's a sorry state of affairs all round at the minute. We have the annual appeals going on too. The Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul and of course Save the Children.

It's hard to get my head round it to be honest when there's so much money in the world, so much wealth.

yes but all the wealth is in the hands of the 1 percent according to the OWS ers and that sounds about right. The middle classes have been losing out to the superrich because they can not afford to pay the lobbyists that keep the 1 percent where they are. Not sharing. They would/should have failed kindergarten. Hopefully the 99 percent will get something going to change this.

I think I live in hope and will probably die in despair. There's always somebody up there looking down at the rest of us and even after the revolution they - or someone in their stead - will be there just the same.

This is a very depressing poem and conversation generator.

Well denying truth never leads to anything good. It is too much accepting an unacceptable present that leads to a continuation of the sad situation. I am sure there is a well run universe out there that run's better than this one. Why else would so many people be unhappy with this one?

Yes but quite often the alternatives to acceptance are much worse - in the short to medium term. Given our life-cycle we don't really have that long to change the world.

If many people would change their attitudes and not make a habit of taking out more than they put in, it would be a whole different world to live in. But we have to realize that we are ALL in this world together and taking resources from one group to give to another is NOT why we are here. It damages people for the next better world which will give people what they need, not necessarily what they want. I believe Jesus sort of talked about that among other things.

If we don't change the selfish attitudes we have, we won't be happy in a well run world. We shouldn't let our eyes be bigger than our stomachs and take more than we should, let everything be distributed by experts and trust them.

Funny but I was discussing communism rather recently with someone on here and was saying how it was a very natural bedfellow for Christianity.

I think we're all entitled to a share too but it's unlikely the redistribution of wealth is going to come about because someone thinks they should share a bit more or not be greedy for that matter.

I look at obscene amounts of money being handed out in our national lottery - things like £27 million - and can't believe that it's legal. Nobody, and I mean nobody needs a personal fortune of £27 million the day after pay day. If you want people to dream and have a national lottery cap it at a 2 million per ticket then it could create 4 new millionaires a week. Then of course you're excluded from future draws and eventually everybody would get a cut.

I don't know that there's an expert in the world I'd trust to re-distribute food packages let alone wealth - but maybe I'm an old cynic.